Manipulation of beads in droplets and methods for manipulating droplets

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9377455-B2
Application number	US-201514746276-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 22, 2015
Priority date	Apr 18, 2006
Publication date	Jun 28, 2016
Grant date	Jun 28, 2016

Abstract

The invention provides a method of circulating magnetically responsive beads within a droplet in a droplet actuator. The invention also provides methods for splitting droplets. The invention, in one embodiment, makes use of a droplet actuator with top and bottom substrates, a plurality of magnetic fields respectively present proximate the top and bottom substrates, wherein at least one of the magnet fields is selectively alterable, and a plurality of droplet operations electrodes positioned along at least one of the top and bottom surfaces. A droplet is positioned between the top and bottom surfaces and at least one of the magnetic fields is selectively altered.

First claim

We claim:

1. A method of circulating magnetically responsive beads within a droplet on a droplet actuator, the method comprising:
(a) providing a droplet actuator, comprising:
(i) top and bottom substrates;
(ii) a plurality of magnetic fields respectively present proximate the top and bottom substrates, wherein at least one of the magnet fields is selectively alterable; and
(iii) a plurality of droplet operations electrodes positioned along at least one of the top and bottom surfaces;

(b) positioning the droplet comprising magnetically responsive beads between the top and bottom substrates in a gap that is within the magnetic fields; and
(c) selectively altering at least one of the magnetic fields to circulate the magnetically responsive beads in the droplet.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein altering at least one of the magnetic fields further comprises activating an electromagnet proximate at least one of the top and bottom surfaces.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein altering at least one of the magnetic fields further comprises activating and deactivating the magnetic fields in a pattern which causes the beads to circulate within the droplet.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein altering at least one of the magnetic fields further comprises activating an electromagnet proximate only one of the top and bottom surfaces.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising selectively activating at least one of a plurality of electromagnets positioned proximate the top surface.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising selectively deactivating at least one of a plurality of electromagnets positioned proximate the top surface.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising selectively activating at least one of a plurality of electromagnets positioned proximate the bottom surface.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising selectively deactivating at least one of a plurality of electromagnets positioned proximate the bottom surface.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein altering at least one of the magnetic fields further comprises physically altering a position of a magnet emanating the at least one magnetic field.

10. A method of circulating magnetically responsive beads within a droplet on a droplet actuator, the method comprising:
(a) providing a droplet actuator, comprising:
(i) top and bottom substrates;
(ii) a plurality of magnetic fields respectively present proximate the top and bottom substrates, wherein at least one of the magnet fields is selectively alterable; and
(iii) a plurality of droplet operations electrodes positioned along at least one of the top and bottom surfaces;

(b) positioning the droplet comprising magnetically responsive beads between the top and bottom substrates in a gap that is within the magnetic fields; and
(c) selectively altering at least one of the magnetic fields to circulate the magnetically responsive beads in the droplet without splitting, merging or transporting the droplet.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein altering at least one of the magnetic fields further comprises activating an electromagnet proximate at least one of the top and bottom surfaces.

12. The method of claim 10 wherein altering at least one of the magnetic fields further comprises activating an electromagnet proximate only one of the top and bottom surfaces.

13. The method of claim 10 further comprising selectively activating at least one of a plurality of electromagnets positioned proximate the top surface.

14. The method of claim 10 further comprising selectively deactivating at least one of a plurality of electromagnets positioned proximate the top surface.

15. The method of claim 10 further comprising selectively activating at least one of a plurality of electromagnets positioned proximate the bottom surface.

16. The method of claim 10 further comprising selectively deactivating at least one of a plurality of electromagnets positioned proximate the bottom surface.

17. The method of claim 10 wherein altering at least one of the magnetic fields further comprises physically altering a position of a magnet emanating the at least one magnetic field.

Assignees

• Advanced Liquid Logic Inc
• Advanced Liquid Logic Inc

Inventors

• Sista Ramakrishna
• Pamula Vamsee K
• Srinivasan Vijay
• Pollack Michael G
• Eckhardt Allen

Classifications

• B01L3/502761 Primary

  specially adapted for handling suspended solids or molecules independently from the bulk fluid flow, e.g. for trapping or sorting beads or physically stretching molecules · CPC title

• B01L2300/0654

  Lenses; Optical fibres · CPC title

• B01L2300/0867

  Multiple inlets and one sample wells, e.g. mixing, dilution · CPC title

• B01L7/52

  with provision for submitting samples to a predetermined sequence of different temperatures, e.g. for treating nucleic acid samples · CPC title

• B01L2300/0816

  Cards, e.g. flat sample carriers usually with flow in two horizontal directions · CPC title